India is a land of vast geography, with the Himalayas crowning the North, the beautiful wetlands like Rann of Kutch in the west. The South is a tropical paradise with diverse flora and fauna and East India is a land of undulating hills and plains with luxuriant green covers. The country has its own intriguing history.
The country has also had its share of struggles and revolutions. Due to its large population, comes vast diversity among its people, languages, traditions, religions, values, cuisines, and even the dresses. Apart from that India is home to a wide species of animals and birds, some of which are endemic to India like the Asiatic Lion, lion-tailed macaque, and nilgai. Even Ayurveda emerged from the Indian subcontinent.
Well if you aren't already in love with this beautiful country these amazing facts would definitely pique your interest.
1. Famous Singer-Songwriter Freddie Mercury Is of Indian Origin
Freddie Mercury was a British singer and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. He is one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music His parents were from the Parsi community of western India (Gujarat).
2. Cotton Was First Spun and Woven in India
The first evidence of cotton use was found in India and Pakistan and it is believed that it was first cultivated in the Indus Valley delta. Romans and Mughals wore delicate cotton cloths from India and called the fabric woven winds and morning dew.
3. The Mother of All European Languages Is Sanskrit
Sanskrit, the language of the ancient Indian subcontinent traces its linguistic ancestry to the Proto Indo- Aryan, European and Iranian languages.
4. Home to the ‘Human Calculator’
Shakuntala Devi was given the title of the human calculator and she could carry out typical calculations very swiftly and efficiently. She calculated the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in 50 seconds!
5. World’s First City With No Religion, Money or Politics
Auroville is an experimental city in Tamil Nadu and is free from any religion, money or politics. It welcomes people from all over the world to live in peace and harmony above all nationalities.
6. Guinness World Record Holder for Planting 50 Million Trees
50 million trees were planted in 24 hours in India on 11th July 2016 creating a world record.
7. Shampoo Was Introduced in the World by India
Shampoo was first used by locals in India. A variety of herbs and extracts have been used in India since ages. The word Shampoo has been derived from the Hindi word champo.
8. It Has a Village Named as Snapdeal.Com Nagar
The village is located in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh named after Snapdeal.com when the digital e-commerce company installed 15 handpumps in the village so that the villagers don't have to walk miles to fetch water.
9. The Concept of 0 and Decimal System Was Discovered by Indian Mathematicians.
Aryabhatta introduced the concept of 0 to the world whereas Bhaskara introduced the decimal system. These are one of the essential discoveries that have shaped modern Mathematics.
10. Wettest Place in the World
The wettest place in the world Mawsynram is located in India. It has a long monsoon season and receives the highest average annual rainfall.
11. Water on the Moon Was Discovered by India
Water on the Moon was first detected by India's ISRO Chandrayaan- 1 using its Moon Mineralogy Mapper.
12. World’s Highest Cricket Ground Is Located in India
The world’s highest cricket ground is located in Chali, Himachal Pradesh. It is located at an altitude of 7380 ft. above sea level and was owned by the erstwhile royal family of Patiala.
13. The Only Country to Have a Village With No Doors.
Shani Shingnapur is known to have no doors and no locks in the whole village, It lies in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.
14. First Country to Produce and Consume Sugar
Sugar was first produced in Northern India from sugarcane plants. Before that honey was used all over the world as a sweetener but had restricted consumers as it was expensive.
15. Earliest Diamond in the World Was Mined in India
The earliest producing diamond mines were found in the Golconda region of India. They were found only in alluvial deposits in Guntur along the Penner, Krishna and Godavari rivers in Southern India.
16. Mahabharata Is Believed to Mention the Concept of Cloning
We all know that Gandhari gave birth to 100 sons in Mahabharata. It is believed that each Kaurava was created by splitting a single embryo by Sage Vyasa which is quite similar to the process we know as cloning.
Snakes & Ladders is an ancient India board game also known as Moksha Patam designed for two or more players.
18. Hanuman Chalisa Accurately Determines the Distance Between the Sun and Earth
In Hanuman Chalisa, composed by Goswami Tulsidas there is an excerpt “Yug sahasra yojana par bhanu, leelyo taahi madhura phal jaanu” which reveals the distance Hanuman travelled (stated to be 1.536 X 108 ) to eat the Sun which he believed was a fruit.
19. The Third-Largest Producer of Medicines in the World.
India is the third-largest producer of medicines and exports medicines globally.
20. White Tigers are Only found in India
India is home to white tigers which are only found among the Indian tigers. They were born through a variant in pigmentation and often grow larger than the common tiger.
21.Nine of the Then Highest Peaks Lie in the Himalayas
The Himalayas contain nine of the ten highest peaks in the world and cover almost 75% of Nepal. It acts as a natural barrier and according to Hindu mythology, they are the abode of Lord Shiva.
22. Aryabhata Measured the Circumference of Earth Way Before the Greeks
By estimating the value of pi at 3.1416, Aryabhata gave a nearly accurate measure of the Earth’s circumference; 24,835 miles or 39,968 kilometres. The actual circumference of Earth is 24,901 miles or 40,075 kilometres.
23. Indian Law Has Banned Keeping Dolphins Captive
The law believes that dolphins should be viewed as non-human persons and has banned keeping the marine animal captive.
24. The Only Country to have Both Lions And Tigers
Hard to believe, India is the only country in the world confirmed to have both lions and tigers to exist in the wild.
25. One of the Largest Historical Universities in the World
In rural Bihar, considered as one of the most ancient universities of the world, The Nalanda University is being rebuilt. It has been attacked by three waves of invaders and its Library has been a renowned repository of Buddhist knowledge.
26. Indians Knew About Gravity Before the West Did
The concept of gravity was known to ancient Indians. There are brief mentions of gravitational notions in Rig Veda, an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns.
27. Kumbh Mela Observes the Largest Gathering of People in the World
The Kumbh Mela is visited by more than 100 million people from across the world and is considered as the world’s largest gathering of humans.
28. It Is Illegal for Foreigners to Take Indian Currency Out of the Country
Foreign travellers are restricted from leaving the country with the Indian Rupee and doing so is considered illegal.
29. Dharavi Is Considered as One of the Most Educated Slums
Dharavi in Mumbai is the third-largest slum in the world. It is considered as one of the most educated slums and also home to many small scale industries.
30. World’s Largest Family Resides in India
The world’s largest family is believed to be from India with the father having 94 children from 34 different wives. The family resides in a 4-storey building with 14 daughters-in-law and 33 grandchildren.
31. 70% Of the Spices in the World Come From India
No country in the world produces as many spices as produced by India. India has had trade relations with many foreign nations and exported spices since ages.
32. Indian Currency Notes Have Braille-Markings for the Blind
Reserve Bank of India in 2015 announced bleed marks and identification marks on some of its currency notes to help people with visual impairment.
33. The Largest Number of Vegetarians In the World
The Indian population contains the highest concentration of vegetarian people in the entire world.
34. The ‘Father of Plastic Surgery’ Is Indian
Sushruta, an Indian physician is described as the ‘father of plastic surgery’. He is believed to be responsible for the advancement of medicine in India.
35. The Atharva Veda States That the Moon Has No Inherent Light
The Atharva Veda, a Hindu scripture dated at 1200-900 BC mentions that the moon wasn’t self-illuminated. An excerpt from the scripture “Divi soma adhi shrutih” translates to “The moon depends upon the rays from the sun”.
36. Early Indians Knew the Speed of Light
Sayana, a Sanskrit Mimasa scholar and Vedic commentator, once said “I bow to the sun whose light traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha”. 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha translates to approximately 2.99 X 108 metres per second.
37. Ancient Indians Were Familiar With the Model of the Solar System
Although Copernicus is believed to have formulated the idea of the sun-centred system, it was the Rig Veda that first mentioned this notion.
“Sun moves in its orbit which itself is moving. Earth and other bodies move around the sun due to the force of attraction, because the sun is heavier than them.” - Rig Veda 1.164.13
38. The Rig Veda Has Mentions of Eclipses
The Rigveda, a sacred text of Hinduism dated at 1450-1300 BC, has extracts about solar eclipses.
“O Sun! When you are blocked by the one whom you gifted your own light (moon), then earth gets scared by sudden darkness.” - Rig Veda 5.40.5
39. India Produced the Largest Volunteer Army During World War 2
More than 2.5 million Indians served for the British Empire and produced the world's largest army during World War 2.
40. The First Rocket in India Was Transported on a Bicycle
The first-ever rocket in India was so light and small that it was transported to the Thumba Launching Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on a bicycle.
41. More Than 100,000 People a Day Are Fed in the Golden Temple Daily
The famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, India feeds 100,000 people a day regardless of their race, religion, gender or caste.
42. A Man in India Revived 5 Rivers in Rajasthan
Rajendra Singh revived 5 rivers in Rajasthan and even brought back water to over 1000 villages and is called the waterman of India.
43. Living Bridges With Tree Roots in Meghalaya
The Khasi people in Meghalaya, India, grow living bridges with tree roots.
44. There Are 122 Major Languages in India and 1599 Other Languages
Out of these 22 are recognised languages with Hindi and English being the official languages.
45. Maximum Average Reading Rate
On average Indians spend more than 10 hours per week reading, which is the maximum for any country in the world.
46. Only Country Other Than Us and Japan to Build a Supercomputer Indigenously
India built its own supercomputer PARAM 8000 indigenously in 1991 and it was considered the world's second-fastest supercomputer at that time.
47. World's Largest Religious Building Dedicated to Indian God, Lord Vishnu
The world's largest religious building, Angkor Wat is a Hindu temple in Cambodia dedicated to Lord Vishnu
48. Largest Planned Township on the Planet Is in India
Navi Mumbai, developed in 1972 is the world's largest planned satellite township.
49. India never invaded any other country
India never invaded any other country in her last 100,000 years of history.
50. A floating Post Office
India has the largest postal network in the world with over 1, 55,015 post offices. The floating post office in Dal Lake, Srinagar, was inaugurated in August 2011.
Wanna travel to this diverse nation? Here is an article that will show you 8 best places in North India to travel.
Learn more about India, its geography, economy and other factors.
Written By - Bhanu Jain
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